Our best bets for Tuesday's slate of college bowl games

With Christmas behind us and the New Year fast approaching, bowl season is kicking into high gear.

While our bowl season bets haven’t gotten off to that hot of an start, we’re looking to heat up as we enter the home stretch to make a mint when the College Football Playoff comes around.

We’ll have a longer gambling guide to the rest of bowl season tomorrow, but if you are feeling antsy this Boxing Day and looking to put a bit of money down, there’s plenty of college football action to get you through the day.

Check out our best bets for the December 26 bowl slate below, and put that Christmas cash to good use.

All lines courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook.

Heart of Dallas Bowl: Utah (-6.5) vs. West Virginia

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The pick: Utah -6.5

The logic: Utah is far from the hottest team in the country, having lost six of their final eight games of the season. But some of those losses have been rather impressive – during the stretch, they lost to USC, Stanford, and Washington by a combined seven points. After coming so close in their marquee games this year, I think the Utes will come out motivated to prove that they are better than their record shows.

When to watch: 1:30 p.m. on ESPN

Quick Lane Bowl: Duke (-5.5) vs. Northern Illinois

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The pick: Duke -5.5

The logic: It’s been a streaky season for the Blue Devils this year, winning their first four games, then losing six in a row before winning their final two to become bowl eligible in the final week of the season. This NIU defence is no joke, having been one of the few teams in football to contain the Toledo offence before Appalachain State, but I always like taking a team that had to fight to get into the postseason, so we’re backing the Blue Devils here.

When to watch: 5:15 p.m. on ESPN

Cactus Bowl: Kansas State (-6.5) vs. UCLA

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The pick: UCLA +6.5

The logic: With star quarterback Josh Rosen sitting this game out due to injury, 71% of bets on this game are coming in on Kansas State according to SportsInsights. It’s never a bad idea to fade the public.